3 Easy Tips to Merchandize Your Studio Like a Pro on Small Business Saturday

Mark your calendars: This year’s Small Business Saturday is right around the corner and falls on November 25. This popular annual retail time is a great opportunity to rally shoppers in your local communities—and you can capitalize by having the right products, great merchandising and signage to build awareness and excitement.

• Last year, 112 million* customers shopped Small Business Saturday
• Last year, $15.4 billion* was spent on Small Business Saturday

No matter the size of your yoga studio’s retail space, it can be a great way to offer additional yoga resources to students while also bringing in extra revenue for your business. But with everything you manage throughout the year, optimizing your retail space can often fall at the bottom of your to-do list. But fear not, you can optimize your retail space before the biggest shopping season of the year starts. After all, the best retail spaces have three things in common: packaging, color and placement.

1. Packaging

Imagine if all cereal boxes at the grocery store were facing sideways with only nutritional facts showing. It would be nearly impossible to find what you were looking for! The same goes for items you’re selling. Make sure all packaging is lined up neatly, facing forward and right side up. So much thought and strategy goes into packaging design—use it to your advantage.

Pro tip: Teach your employees to help out. It not only elevates the presentation of your space, but many retail-savvy studio owners boast their retail revenue pays the rent each month.

2. Color

A retail space jumbled with conflicting colors and prints can make things feel chaotic. Consider buying your retail product in color themes according to your studio branding. If you like having lots of colors, just separate them out. For example, group one section of your space with all blue and green products and another section with all red products.

Pro tip: Add holiday signage and seasonal decorations. Yoga mats make great gifts!

3. Placement

Products sell best when they’re at eye level, easy to reach and easy to see (so not on high shelves or on the ground). For example, yoga studios often have yoga mats lying sideways in cubbies—although this is a great storage solution, it doesn’t optimize selling. Products should always be placed in high traffic zones and moved around often. Items left lying on the rack for a month can suddenly look fresh and new from a simple, small move.

Pro tip: Hang new product during busy class traffic times. Although this may seem chaotic, people love to shop right out of the box, feeling like they’re getting an exclusive first look.

Small Business Saturday is an exciting time to take center stage in your community. You work so hard to serve your students, so leverage this opportunity! Free resources and marketing tools are provided by American Express, check it out and let your customers know you’re a participating #ShopSmall studio (it’s super easy).

*American Express. "Small Business Saturday Results: 112 Million Consumers Shop and Dine Small on Small Business Saturday - More Than Ever Before." Press Release. 28 November 2016.

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